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OSHA Safety Training Health Hazards in Construction, Noise and Hearing Conservation, and Silica It is important that safety and health programs contain provisions to protect workers from health hazards, including those presented by toxic or hazardous chemicals, elevated levels of occupational noise, and crystalline silica dust (a byproduct of operations in which quartz is ground into an airborne inhalant). Here, we give an overview of the major points covered in the module named above. Health Hazards in Construction OSHAs construction industry safety standards for Hazard Communication ( 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, 1910.1200 ) outlines systems and procedures meant to protect employees from the deleterious effects of hazardous chemicals. “Chemicals pose a wide range of health hazards (such as irritation, sensitization, and carcinogenicity) and physical hazards (such as flammability, corrosion, and reactivity). OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is de signed to ensure that information about these hazards and associated protective measures is disseminated.” Source: OSHA; What is Hazard Communication http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hazardcommunications/whatishazcom.html The key elements of a standard chemical hazard communication program are: Labeling and Other Warnings - All chemicals in the workplace have to be labeled! The name of the chemical, the manufacturer’s name and address (or that of the source of the sale), and any hazards it presents are required to be listed on the label. Warning information such as symbols, pictures (such as a skull for poison), etc. must be present, and the labels must be in English and clear and easy-to-read. Safety Data Sheets - A readily available document that pinpoints crucial information about a material, including any health and/or physical hazards associated with it. Hazard Determination - The process of evaluating available scientific evidence to determine if a chemical is hazardous pursuant to the HCS. This evaluation identifies both physical hazards (e.g., flammability or reactivity) and health hazards (e.g., carcinogenicity or sensitization). The hazard determination provides the basis for the hazard information that is provided in SDSs, labels, and employee training.” Employee Information and Training - Employers must provide employees with effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment, and whenever a new physical or health hazard employees have not previously been trained about is introduced into their work area.

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Page 1: OSHA Safety Training - RedVector · PDF fileOSHA Safety Training Health Hazards in Communication, Noise and Hearing Conservation, and Silica It is important that safety and

OSHA Safety Training Health Hazards in Construction, Noise

and Hearing Conservation, and Silica

It is important that safety and health programs contain provisions to protect workers from

health hazards, including those presented by toxic or hazardous chemicals, elevated

levels of occupational noise, and crystalline silica dust (a byproduct of operations in

which quartz is ground into an airborne inhalant). Here, we give an overview of the major

points covered in the module named above.

Health Hazards in Construction

OSHA’s construction industry safety standards for Hazard Communication (29 Code of

Federal Regulations, Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, 1910.1200) outlines

systems and procedures meant to protect employees from the deleterious effects of

hazardous chemicals.

“Chemicals pose a wide range of health hazards (such as irritation, sensitization, and

carcinogenicity) and physical hazards (such as flammability, corrosion, and reactivity).

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is designed to ensure that information

about these hazards and associated protective measures is disseminated.”

Source: OSHA; What is Hazard Communication

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hazardcommunications/whatishazcom.html

The key elements of a standard chemical hazard communication program are:

Labeling and Other Warnings - All chemicals in the workplace have to be labeled! The

name of the chemical, the manufacturer’s name and address (or that of the source of the

sale), and any hazards it presents are required to be listed on the label. Warning

information such as symbols, pictures (such as a skull for poison), etc. must be present,

and the labels must be in English and clear and easy-to-read.

Safety Data Sheets - A readily available document that pinpoints crucial information

about a material, including any health and/or physical hazards associated with it.

Hazard Determination - The process of evaluating available scientific evidence to

determine if a chemical is hazardous pursuant to the HCS. This evaluation identifies both

physical hazards (e.g., flammability or reactivity) and health hazards (e.g.,

carcinogenicity or sensitization). The hazard determination provides the basis for the

hazard information that is provided in SDSs, labels, and employee training.”

Employee Information and Training - Employers must provide employees with

effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time

of their initial assignment, and whenever a new physical or health hazard employees have

not previously been trained about is introduced into their work area.

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Written Hazard Communication Program - requires that employers fully document

the actions taken to comply with all of the provisions of the standard and to list the

person(s) responsible for each area of the program. A copy of the written program must

be made available, upon request, to all employees and OSHA officials.

Trade Secrets – A chemical manufacturer may withhold the chemical identity, including

the chemical name and other specific information, from the SDS. In certain

circumstances, however (such as an accident involving the chemical), this secret

information must be disclosed to health care professionals or designated employees or

representatives.

Noise and Hearing Conservation

Occupational noise – distracting and/or intrusive unwanted sound - is among the most

pervasive occupational health problems, particularly in a field such as construction or

manufacturing. Hearing protection measures are necessary when the level of noise

over an 8-hour time-weighted average is 85 dB or higher.

OSHA’s hearing conservation program is designed to protect workers with significant

occupational noise exposures. You should not suffer hearing impairment from your job,

even if you are subject to high noise over your entire working lifetime. The following

components are the most important points in a successful hearing conservation program:

• Monitoring

• Engineering and administrative controls

• Audiometric testing

• Hearing protection

• Employee participation

The following steps should be taken in any monitoring procedure:

• Monitoring should be done at any site where noise exposure might be a problem,

and should be repeated if changes at the site might increase the noise exposure.

• The monitoring process must be done during a normal workday, and workers may

observe the process if they wish.

• The results of the monitoring should be made available to the employees as soon

as possible, and should be in a format which can be easily understood.

Engineering and administrative controls are the first two steps toward resolving

hazardous situations: remove the hazard if possible, and if not, then remove the worker

from the situation (the third step is employing personal protective equipment (PPE) to

minimize the remaining risks).

Your employer has to establish and maintain an audiometric testing program, which must

be available free of charge to anyone exposed to 85 dB or more in an 8-hour (TWA) shift.

There are several important elements of a testing program:

Page 3: OSHA Safety Training - RedVector · PDF fileOSHA Safety Training Health Hazards in Communication, Noise and Hearing Conservation, and Silica It is important that safety and

• Baseline audiograms

• Annual audiograms

• Follow-up procedures

Some types of hearing protection include:

• Single-use earplugs are made of waxed cotton, foam, silicone rubber or

fiberglass wool. They are self-forming and, when properly inserted, they work as

well as most molded earplugs.

• Pre-formed or molded earplugs have to be fitted for you by a professional, and

can be disposable or reusable. Reusable plugs should be cleaned after each use.

• Earmuffs require a perfect seal around the ear. Glasses, facial hair, long hair or

facial movements such as chewing can reduce the protective value of earmuffs.

Employers must provide their employees with a selection of at least one kind of ear plug

and at least one type of earmuff. Workers should decide, preferably with the help of

someone trained in OSHA-compliant hearing protection, which size and type of

protection is most suitable for their work environment.

Silica

Crystalline silica is a common substance that is the main component of sand, quartz and

granite rock. Occupational exposure to crystalline silica dust has long been known to

produce silicosis, a dust disease of the lung.

Silica dust is produced during sandblasting, rock drilling, jack hammering, foundry work,

stonecutting, quarrying, brick and concrete cutting and sawing, gunite operations, and

many more procedures. But perhaps the most familiar use of quartz sand is as an abrasive

blasting agent to remove surface coatings – particularly on bridges and concrete

structures – prior to repainting or treating.

Silicosis is classified into three types: chronic /classic, accelerated, and acute.

Chronic/classic silicosis, the most common, occurs after 15–20 years of moderate to low

exposures to respirable crystalline silica. Symptoms may or may not be obvious, so

workers should have a chest x-ray to see if there is lung damage. As the illness

progresses, shortness of breath upon exercising and clinical signs of poor oxygen/carbon

dioxide exchange may become evident. In the later stages, fatigue, extreme shortness of

breath, chest pain, or respiratory failure can occur.

Accelerated silicosis can occur after 5–10 years of high exposures to respirable

crystalline silica. Symptoms include severe shortness of breath, weakness, and weight

loss. The onset of symptoms takes longer than in acute silicosis.

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Acute silicosis occurs after a few months or as long as 2 years following exposures to

extremely high concentrations of respirable crystalline silica. Symptoms of acute silicosis

include severe disabling shortness of breath, weakness, and weight loss, which often

leads to death.

How Can You Protect Yourself?

• Replace crystalline silica materials with safer substitutes, whenever possible.

• Use all available work practices to control dust exposures, such as water sprays.

• Wear only a N95 NIOSH certified respirator, if respirator protection is required.

• Wear only a Type CE abrasive-blast supplied-air respirator for abrasive blasting.

• Wear disposable or washable work clothes and shower if facilities are available.

• Do not eat, drink, smoke, or apply cosmetics in areas where crystalline silica dust

is present.

• Provide engineering or administrative controls, where feasible, such as local

exhaust ventilation, and blasting cabinets.